The Juilliard School Appoints New Preparatory Faculty Artists

Stella Chen, Ellen dePasquale, Randall Goosby, and Jonathan Villegas have now joined the school’s teaching faculty

New York’s Juilliard School has announced four acclaimed artists and educators to its Preparatory Division faculty, beginning in the fall semester. 

Violinists Stella Chen, Randall Goosby, and Ellen dePasquale will be teaching in the school’s Pre-College violin faculty; this announcement also follows Chen’s recent appointment to the College Division violin faculty. 

Jonathan Villegas will join the Music Advancement Program (MAP) faculty as wind ensemble conductor, while dePasquale will also be part of the MAP violin faculty. 

Stella has performed with major international orchestras and given recitals all over the world. Among her accolades include winning the 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. In 2023, she released her debut album to critical acclaim, and received young artist of the year at the Gramophone Awards. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University, and a doctorate from Juilliard. She plays the 1720 “General Kyd” Stradivarius — generously loaned by Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative. 

Ellen dePasquale has been associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra, acting associate concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony, and concertmaster of the Dallas Opera. Since 2008, she has served on the faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School, plus has held teaching roles at the Jacobs School of Music and the Preparatory Divisions of Temple University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is a violin and viola graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Indiana University. 

Signed exclusively to Decca Classics, Randall Goosby has performed with leading orchestras around the world plus has taught and performed with nonprofits including the Opportunity Music Project and Concerts in Motion in NYC. In 2020, he became an Ambassador for Music Masters, mentoring and inspiring students in schools around the UK. In 2022, he was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as the Sphinx Organization’s Medal of Excellence. A Juilliard School graduate, Goosby studied with Itzhak Perlman, Catherine Cho, Laurie Smukler, and Donald Weilerstein. He plays the 1708 “Strauss” Stradivarius violin on generous loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture in Korea. 

Jonathan Villegas is currently the assistant artistic director of D.C.’s Different Drummers, wind ensemble leader of the Training Ensemble with the New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra, assistant conductor for the Peabody Preparatory Wind Band, and wind ensembles director for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program. Previously, Villegas was assistant conductor for the Portland State University Orchestra, Bands, and Opera. Recently, they completed a master of music in wind conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Harlan Parker. 

“I’m beyond thrilled about these new additions to the Preparatory Division faculty,” said Weston Sprott, the division’s dean and director. “Through our search process, they each demonstrated incredible skill and enthusiasm for working with our exceptional young musicians and articulated a vision for developing musical excellence through compassion and healthy challenges.”